Once upon a time, we used to go to conferences and in-person meet and greet events. All too often at these functions, I would hear from attendees that they knew the value Salesforce could bring to their small organization as it’s the number #1 CRM for service, but they felt like their team could not afford the platform licenses and or implementation costs and quickly went on their way. What I wanted to urgently tell them before they left was there is a way to afford Salesforce even for smaller teams who might not have as expansive of a technology budget, and it probably would save them much more money than they ever anticipated once their implementation was complete.
How to Overcome Salesforce Implementation Costs Step by Step
1. Prioritize Your Must-Have Configurations
You know you want the robust automation Salesforce offers, make a list of what are the most important business processes at this very moment. Remember keep your list narrow, not everything can be your priority, otherwise, you don’t really have priorities. After you make your list, share with your favorite Salesforce consulting partner for their analysis.
2. Establish Long Term Goals
Okay so now that you know what your team wants right now, do you know what your team wants long term? Create this list without worrying about the Salesforce implementation costs, that’s for the team of Salesforce consultants to figure out how to make it happen and what it will take to get there. Once you create your long-term goals, your team of Salesforce consultants will analyze those goals coupled with your current priorities. Then they will start to develop a strategy that will work with both needs in mind alongside your budget and they should be blueprinting a solution that will ultimately save your team costs over time through increased efficiencies.
3. Document Your Nice to Have List
Once you have your priorities and long-term goals established, it’s time to consider what your non-essential configurations are. These items should not be something that will drastically change your long-term goals but would add extra value to your instance. Go ahead and make this list even with your limited budget because it’s possible certain items won’t take as long as you previously thought and can be built into your implementation or the team may want to build the configurations in a way that you don’t spend more on resources later when you decide to add in those extra features.
4. Start with a Smaller Implementation
Another realistic option when salesforce implementation costs can seem overwhelming is to start with a smaller implementation. When you start with a smaller implementation you allow your team to get going with Salesforce and then you can sign up for a long-term managed service agreement with a fixed monthly cost so your team can still complete the needed Salesforce configurations, just at a slower pace. With this model, basically, your certified Salesforce partner is working right alongside you throughout a long-term agreement and they can be there to pivot should your needs change.
Essentially when you partner with a certified Salesforce Consulting partner, they should be working with you in a way that works within your budget. As you know now, there is no reason for the budget to really present a roadblock in acquiring Salesforce as there are a number of ways to get started. At Abelian, we truly want to ease the strain and headache that trying to automate business processes can cause. If you’re struggling to modernize your business, but don’t think you can afford a team that can help, reach out to us . We will meet with your team for a free strategy session and brainstorm some ways you can get your team up and running with Salesforce in no time and at a price point that works for you.
